Rebecca Minkoff is shaking things up for New York Fashion Week in February.
The designer is unveiling a new kind of show: Instead of presenting her fall ’16 collection, like the rest of the fashion pack, Minkoff will preview styles that are available at retail or will be in the following 30 to 45 days. The company has already garnered support from retailers, press and influencers, who will attend and promote full-price, in-season selling post show.
“As a brand that has become known for firsts — one of the first brands to engage our customer on social media, the first brand on Snapchat, one of the first brands to [get into] wearable tech — we feel this is the next logical step,” said Uri Minkoff, CEO and co-founder of the brand. “We have always democratized fashion through the lens of technology and designer accessibility, and we have the connections and the means to evolve what has become an antiquated model.”
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The CEO continued, “Today, there are inefficiencies in the show model, the calendar and process, and the result is consumer fatigue at retail.”
Rebecca Minkoff expanded on her brother’s sentiment: “We have seen that the current fashion-show system isn’t working. Through social media and the Internet, our customer is seeing the product at the same time editors and influencers do. By the time the product hits shelves six months later, they are over the item they were originally coveting when it walked down the runway.”
The brand will still be in the fall ’16 mix, however, and plans to hold private appointments for buyers and editors. Styles will then be revealed to consumers in September.
“Our goal is to revolutionize the way things are done,” Uri Minkoff concluded. “I hope other designers will join us in this conversation.”
